"Guwa!"
The two bandits' eyes were bloodshot as they fought frantically, their bodies covered in blood.
They had abandoned their choppers and bows, trading bare-fisted blows without caring how badly they were injured, fighting until they were beaten to death.
One bandit had even had his leg broken in the melee, yet he still crawled along the ground, dragging a long trail of blood as he tried to rejoin the fight.
Tap, tap-
Footsteps sounded, and the bandit with the broken leg turned to look, noticing Wu Yu approaching.
He let out a strange cry and reached out with a bloody arm, trying to grab Wu Yu.
Bits of other bandits' flesh and organs still clung to his arm, along with a wound deep enough to expose bone.
Slash!
A chopper whistled down, severing the bandit's head. His body twitched a few times, then went still.
Wu Yu gripped the chopper with both hands, marveling at the wisps of black energy on its blade.
When I killed that first bandit with a blade earlier, the edge curled before I could finish him off.
Now, with the enhancements from reaching the beginner level in two techniques, plus this move from the Tiger Roar Eight-Slash Saber, [Tiger Roar Saber], it's actually this powerful!
Although [Tiger Roar Saber] only has one move, it carries vitality and possesses a soul-shaking transcendent power.
The first slash costs very little, but the more slashes I make, the more vitality they consume, and the stronger they become.
Recalling the contents of the Tiger Roar Eight-Slash Saber, Wu Yu sprang into motion, swinging his chopper at the remaining bandits.
All the surviving bandits were injured and still fighting frantically among themselves, so only a few attacked Wu Yu. They posed little threat.
After killing a few, Wu Yu gradually became more practiced. He no longer needed to activate the [Heaven-Earth State] or use his saber technique; every stroke was fatal.
Before long, Wu Yu dropped the chopper and sat on a bandit's corpse, panting as he rested.
Reality was no game, after all. Even though he had grown stronger, hacking down over a hundred bandits in succession had still left him somewhat exhausted.
But with the bandit chief still alive, he did not dare waste time.
"My hands are going to cramp up."
Wu Yu frowned slightly and shook out his arms.
Looking at his Inventory, he took out a flask of high-grade spirit wine.
High-grade spirit wine was not as effective as Exquisite Food at restoring vitality, but Wu Yu had been eating constantly all day to stockpile firepower. His stomach felt ready to burst.
No matter how good the food tasted, Wu Yu had no appetite at that moment.
Especially not surrounded by a pile of corpses...
"Gulp-!"
He hastily took a few swigs, then began collecting the Cards on the ground once he felt some strength return.
[Vitality Pill], [Beast meat], [Unpleasant Meat Chunk], [Low-Quality Chopper], [Silver Tael]...
He put a large number of Cards into his Inventory, stacking them in the same slot.
Soon, he had collected all the Cards in the Residential Area.
There were 401 in total, including 186 [Unpleasant Meat Chunk] Cards.
"There's no way these bandits could have saved up this much silver."
Wu Yu pondered briefly and concluded that it was probably due to the [Newcomer Secret Realm]'s reward bonus. The loot here clearly exceeded any reasonable amount.
After discarding the unwanted Cards, Wu Yu tallied the rest.
There were 55 [beast meat], 72 [Vitality Pill], 40 [Silver Tael], 11 [Ten Taels of Silver], one [Hundred Taels of Silver], 15 [Hemostatic Grass], ten [Low-Quality Chopper], and ten [Bandit Shortbow] Cards. There was also a Technique Card called "Mountain Lord Rite."
Most of the items were ordinary, so Wu Yu did not bother examining them closely. He simply took out the Mountain Lord Rite Card.
Mountain Lord Rite Type: technique. Quality: green. Description: upon use, learn to set up the Mountain Lord Rite, become a servant of the Mountain Lord, and wield transcendent power.
"This thing is just like the Mountain Lord Ghost Servant Art, isn't it?"
Wu Yu's face twitched, and he promptly tossed it into his Inventory.
"Next, I'll search this side quickly, then go deal with the chief!"
Before long, Wu Yu emerged from the stronghold's Right-Side Area and strode up the path toward its upper reaches.
There was no second Bronze Chest in the Residential Area, training ground, Medicine Room, or the other places he checked.
There were, however, plenty of everyday odds and ends and unidentified medicinal herbs, all of which he swept up.
His Inventory was crammed full of things!
If time had not been so tight, Wu Yu would have wanted to search this place thoroughly.
This was the largest area in the entire Evil Tiger Stronghold, and it might have concealed some hidden space.
A little later, Wu Yu cautiously climbed to the highest point of the Evil Tiger Stronghold.
There was only one tall brick building here. Unlike the crude houses below, this brick building was quite finely built!
A plaque above the entrance read "Hall of Gathering Heroes"!
"The classic Hall of Gathering Heroes."
Wu Yu glanced at it, somewhat surprised.
The words "Hall of Gathering Heroes" were actually written in the Zhu Xia Federation's common language, too!
Just like in Redfang Village, there's no language barrier... Is this something specific to the [Newcomer Secret Realm], or are all the Mysterious Tower's secret realms like this?
Come to think of it, since there's a Newcomer Secret Realm, I'll probably have more chances to enter later.
He looked into the Hall of Gathering Heroes. Inside the traditionally furnished hall, a towering, burly man had his arms around a load-bearing pillar and was violently ramming into it.
The man was at least three meters tall, the tallest person Wu Yu had seen since entering the [Newcomer Secret Realm]!
He, too, wore a Beastskin Garment, but with a black cloak as well.
"Huff-! Huff-!"
The burly man's face was flushed as he clung to the load-bearing pillar, oblivious to everything else.
The pillar was made of stone, yet he had battered a hole into it, and that hole was still growing.
Beside him lay a shattered, finely crafted red wooden table. Broken wine jars and bowls littered the ground, along with a puddle of wine.
Clearly, even the bandit chief had been unable to resist the delicious high-grade spirit wine.
"That huge jar..."
Wu Yu examined it carefully, feeling fortunate.
Judging by the fragments on the floor, the bandit chief had been served his own separate meal. But the high-grade spirit wine had tasted so good that he had barely touched the food and instead downed an entire jar!
"I'll try this first."
Wu Yu approached cautiously and took out the Short Blade.
He activated the [Heaven-Earth State], and the Short Blade shot out, tracing a red streak.
Fast, precise, and vicious, the Short Blade flew straight for the burly man's neck.
The man made no attempt to resist, but with a clang, the Short Blade bounced back instead of piercing his neck.
Wu Yu looked closer. It had not even broken the skin.
"Forget it."
He took a deep breath, pulled out some pebbles, and threw them over one after another.
Boom-!
A pebble landed and immediately exploded.
Flames engulfed the burly man's body, and a Divine Bird Sigil flashed briefly amid the fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Only after more than a dozen relentless blasts did the burly man hugging the pillar finally collapse in the flames, his body covered in blasted wounds and scorch marks.
Crash-!
The load-bearing pillar shattered, its pieces falling into the crater blasted into the floor.
"Finally down."
Wu Yu clutched a small pebble, staring fixedly in that direction.
Only when the bandit chief dissolved into light and several Cards fell to the ground
did he relax and cautiously walk over.
Before you continue